Relating

Western Resources and Kansas City Power & Light filed withthe FERC a settlement relating to market power, transmission andcustomer protection issues stemming from the planned merger of thetwo companies. Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionand other major parties to the case support the filing, accordingto Western.

Instead of trying to sift through all the issues relating to theshort-term and long-term transportation markets, Commissioner LindaBreathitt proposed that FERC first issue a limited rulemakingaddressing the less-controversial issues and save the more complexissues for later. “From what I’ve read in the comments [filed atFERC], the approach I am proposing appears to be one that many inthe market could support,” she said in a speech to the American GasAssociation Legal Forum in La Jolla, CA, last week.

Filings before the FERC relating to refund of ad valorem taxesimproperly collected by Kansas gas producers during the 1980squestion whether FERC’s authority overrules that of the statelegislature.